TAMPA — Stomach-turning sights almost always elicit the same reaction. This one was no different.
Teammates who gathered around Bucs receiver Paris Warren that muggy August night could hardly look. The few fans left in the stadium covered their eyes. And, months later, even Warren's brothers shrieked when they recently watched video of his gruesomely twisted left ankle.
No one could bear to look except, it seems, for Warren. He came to terms with his ill-timed injury, suffered in the closing minutes of the Bucs' final 2007 preseason game, right then and there.
"When I fell, I already knew at that point that it was messed up," said Warren, who suffered a severe dislocation and torn ligaments. "I turned over and looked at it, and it was like, 'Oh, man.' … Other people looked at it and had to turn their heads. I just said, 'Guess it's time to go get it fixed.' "
He did, and now Warren is ready, he says, to be better than ever.
His ugly injury and subsequent surgery cut short his potential "breakout season" before it began. He was on the verge of making the opening-day roster, and things never seemed more promising for the former seventh-round pick.
As the Bucs look to shake up their receiving corps through the upcoming draft, they'll have the benefit of having Warren around to intensify the competition. Now nearly 100 percent healthy, Warren hopes to put pressure on Michael Clayton, Maurice Stovall, Antonio Bryant and others.
"It's all about waiting for your turn," Warren said. "I've been here the whole time, and I've been kind of quiet. But that's over. I think it's time for me to come out and put a stamp on myself."
Cockiness? Perhaps. But Warren, entering his fourth NFL season, knows he can't wait any longer to prove his worth.
He appeared ready to do so in 2007. Warren, 25, dazzled in the preseason, leading the Bucs in receiving with 15 catches for 191 yards and four touchdowns.
His performance even has coach Jon Gruden wondering whether Warren has the potential to replicate the feats of the Bucs' original Mr. August, running back Earnest Graham.
Like Warren, Graham had his greatest production and most extensive playing time in the preseason. Then injuries pressed him into action and, presto, he led the Bucs in rushing last season.
"Put (Graham) in a regular-season game and it's, 'You know what? I'm an idiot,' " Gruden said, referring to Graham's previous lack of regular-season playing time. "Maybe Paris Warren needs to play."
At least physically, Warren, who had five catches for 63 yards in the 2006 regular season, is capable.
"I can say that if we had a game tomorrow, I'm pretty much playing," Warren said. "No doubt."
And quarterback Jeff Garcia would be happy to have the versatile Warren, who is capable of playing split end, flanker or in the slot.
"He knows all the positions, and that's a key to being in this offense," Garcia said.
A chance to compete is all Warren can realistically expect. And that's all it takes to keep him going.
"I was a seventh-round pick," he said. "A lot of guys who were drafted before me aren't even here. Nothing was given to me. I had to go get it. But I'm still getting after it, and I'm just getting started."
Stephen F. Holder can be reached at sholder@sptimes.com.
Bucs Draft 2008
When: April 26 (rounds 1-2) and April 27 (rounds 3-7)
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